Oogie Boogie
Oogie Boogie is the primary antagonist of the The Nightmare Before Christmas. Voiced by Ken Page, he is a burlap sack filled with insects, and a snake for a tongue. It is likely he is the legendary Boogeyman, as suggested by the boogie in his name, and how he refers to himself as a "gamblin' boogeyman". The boogeyman was also known to cause sheer horror in the dreams of mortals, as hinted in "This Is Halloween" as the shadow on the moon is described as filling the dreams of mortals "to the brim with fright". If this is the case, then he is likely able to have the power to generate fear in humans. He doesn't think Halloween should be a fun holiday like everyone else does. He thinks it should be sinister and harmful. He commands three loyal minions Lock, Shock, & Barrel. The three live in a Treehouse, above Oogie's Lair. They feed him bugs, and the occasional Santa Claus through a metal shute that leads down below. Character Inspiration Oogie Boogie did not appear in Tim Burton's original Poem, but Burton later sketched a portrait of what appeared to be a potato sack man with horrible things inside. In his autobiography Burton on Burton, Burton says that Oogie Boogie was loosely inspired by Cab Calloway's 1932 appearance in a Betty Boop cartoon. In addition to this, Danny Elfman ended up referencing the Betty Boop cartoon The Old Man of the Mountain (1933), also featuring Calloway. Santa Claus' line "Well, what are you going to do?" and Oogie Boogie's response of "I'm gonna do the best I can!" are direct quotes from this cartoon. An alternate idea for Oogie's identity was for him to be Doctor Finklestein in disguise, gaining revenge on Jack and Sally, but it was not pursued past storyboards, this is visible on the Special Edition DVD. Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas Unlike all the other inhabitants of Halloween Town, who are merely docile monsters who scare people simply as a celebration of their skill and for fun, Oogie is truly evil. It is suggested that his sadistic nature had resulted in his exile from the mainstream Halloween Town, although he is permitted to participate in the 'This is Halloween' music number as the shadow on the moon. He lives in an underground lair full of torture devices, each of which features a gambling theme. This lair, during his theme song, is lit with blacklights in the style of a cheap funhouse. Under these, Oogie himself glows bright green. After the lights dim, however, the bright color is sapped from his lair, transforming its appearance into that of a dank, cellar-like dungeon. Above his lair is the Treehouse of Lock, Shock, & Barrel, who feed him bugs regularly via a metal chute. It is at first believed that Oogie cannot be killed or die but it is later revealed he can be destroyed if his brain, the lead bug, is destroyed. In the movie, Lock, Shock, and Barrel kidnap Santa Claus and (against the wishes of Jack, who held Oogie in great contempt) send him down to Oogie Boogie's lair, where he is bound to a giant roulette wheel. According to deleted song material (found in the soundtrack version), Oogie plans to add "Sandy Claws" to his new batch of Snake and Spider Stew, to "add a little Spice". Sally, after finding out Santa's fate, attempts to rescue him but is captured herself. Oogie then tortures and tries to kill Sally and Santa Claus, but is destroyed when Jack pulls a thread loose from him, which causes the majority of his bugs to fall into the stew and die. One of them, believed to be the lead bug, is crushed by Santa Claus; however, the true lead bug (apparently the"brain" of Oogie) is later revealed to have escaped to rebuild its body in video game spin-offs of the movie. Video Game appearances The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King In The Nightmare Before Christmas:the Pumpkin King, the video game prequel to TNBC, Oogie's origins and the birth of his rivalry with Jack were revealed. As it turns out, he once had his own holiday, Bug Day, that was (most likely) forgotten by the people of the real world and thus vanished. Unfortunately, Oogie escaped, found Halloween Town and decided that it would be the new Bug Day. He and his army of insects invaded the town and nearly took it over. Jack found out and he defeated the bugs and Oogie. Oogie survived the battle, having learned to fear the Pumpkin King, and was banished to his underground lair. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge In the 2005 video game The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge,'' Oogie was resurrected by his henchmen, Lock, Shock and Barrel who sewed him together. He quickly deceived the residents of Halloween Town and tricked the townfolk into making traps for Jack. Oogie attempted to become the Seven Holidays King. He successfully kidnapped the real leaders and tried to murder Santa Claus again, but his plans were foiled by Jack. Desperate, Oogie puts up a fight by turning into a gigantic, junk-filled version of himself named "Mega-Oogie", but he is again destroyed. Kingdom Hearts Oogie appears as one of the Disney Villains allied with Maleficent in the ''Kingdom Hearts series of video games, swallowing the artificial heart that Jack and Doctor Finklestein created to take control of the Heartless and use them to take over Halloween Town. He tried to destroy Sora, Jack, and the others by trapping them in his giant roulette machine, thus starting a battle. At the end of the battle, his seams split and released all the bugs from inside his body, leaving nothing but his empty sack body and the heart. However, because he had swallowed the heart, the energies inside of it resurrected him, merging him with his manor However, Sora defeats the boss again, causing Oogie's manor form to crumble into dust. Oogie returns in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories ''as a creation from Sora's memories of Halloween Town. He also appeared in Riku's story as a token of the darkness in his heart. Oogie was resurrected by Maleficent in ''Kingdom Hearts II as part of her plan to take over Christmas Town while making Santa Claus into "Santa Heartless". His fate in the end was similar to his initial fate from the first game, only this time Donald Duck squashed the final bug in the hopes that Oogie would not return (as Santa did in the film). However, as Oogie returns in the film's game sequel, Oogie's Revenge, even after his brain bug was squashed by Santa, his appearance in future Kingdom Hearts titles is still possible. Category:Characters